Slocum seeing strides in Crosby's tempo

Nov. 26, 2012

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Mason Crosby has now missed a field goal in each of the last six games in which he’s attempted one, but there’s still reason for optimism in the eyes of his coaches.

On Monday, Packers special teams coach Shawn Slocum said Crosby’s miss from 55 yards in the first quarter of Sunday's 38-10 loss was on target and struck well before the wind blew it wide left as it neared the goal post.

Crosby came back to make a 28-yarder in the second quarter to improve to 12-of-20 in his attempts this season (60 percent). Over his last seven games, Crosby has only made seven of his 15 attempts.

“I think so,” said Slocum on if Crosby is close to being back. “I think we’ve made an emphasis on hitting the ball with rhythm and tempo right down the target line and taking the complication out of it. I thought he did that last night.

There was some debate if the Packers should have attempted the 55-yarder and instead pinned New York deep into its own territory with the game tied 7-7, but Slocum didn’t see the play as a gamble or ploy to help Crosby regain his confidence.

“I don’t think it was a big gamble,” Slocum said. “I think it was a situation we looked at as an opportunity to score points. In those games like that, scoring points is a premium. We made a decision to do it because Mason is well-capable of doing it. He’s missed more than we would like from 50 yards this year, but at the same time, we’re going to continue to be aggressive the way we play the game.”